Turkish Navy to buy large landing ship for overseas missions

The Turkish Navy is preparing to buy its first landing-platform dock able to carry up to eight helicopters as it seeks to gain the capability for overseas amphibious force deployment as part of NATO and peacekeeping efforts.

The prime contractor for the $500 million project will be a local company, but because of the high degree of technology transfer required, there will also be heavy foreign-industry involvement, procurement officials said.

The Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry, or SSM, Turkey’s defense-procurement agency, opened a competition in late February among seven domestic companies that are expected to establish partnerships with foreign counterparts, including Italian, South Korean, Spanish, Dutch, French, British and German firms, according to procurement officials and business sources familiar with the program.

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